Online seller battered in Kissimmee over $200 pair of Nike sneakers

Facebook deal ends in blood, stitches and jail

Two Osceola County teenagers pistol-whipped an online vendor and robbed him of a pair of $200 sneakers last week, according to Kissimmee police.

Johnny Rodriguez, 19, and a 16-year-old minor were picked up Friday after the robbery at Arrow Ridge Apartments, where they went to meet Dylan Grason, who was selling a pair orange Lebron 9 All-Star Nike sneakers, according to police.

But instead of paying him, the pair of robbers grabbed the fancy kicks and repeatedly hit Grason in the face with a revolver, police said. Police records say there was blood gushing from Grason's face.

When police arrived, Grason remembered the name of the younger teenager, who had answered his Facebook offer to sell the shoes. By then the teen suspect had deleted his own Facebook page, but police used his name to track both suspects to a nearby apartment complex 10 minutes later, records show.

Rodriguez and his co-defendant were found hiding in a friend's apartment, where the stolen sneakers were recovered. The gun was not found.

Both teens were charged with armed robbery and aggravated battery. Rodriguez was booked into Osceola County Jail with no bail and the younger suspect was taken to the state Juvenile Assessment Center in Orlando.

Grason was treated at Osceola Regional Medical Center where his wounds were closed with 11 stitches, a report stated.

Police advise online shoppers to always arrange to meet a vendor or buyer in a public area when responding to Internet offers posted on Craigslist, Facebook and other websites.

"The important lesson here is to gather as much information as possible about the buyer/seller and if something looks too good to be true, it probably is," police Chief Lee Massie said in a statement.